Entertainment has become an integrated part of our culture. Movies, television shows and video games each have carved out a following with people of all walks of life. The goal in any form of entertainment is to create an experience that is as close as possible to the fantasy created on the film or computer. One aspect is the visual effects. Here they make what we see to be as close as possible to the real world. Other aspects are what we feel through our body and hear through our ears, and some of what we “hear” is actually what we feel through pressure changes on our skin. With that, the audio interface between the body and the chair, or other furniture that is supporting the body, is a vitally important part of the entertainment experience, including in a theater or at home.
Low frequency sound may produce both a tactile and auditory response from the body, especially if properly done. The body's perception of sound and vibration may be hard wired to the brain, thus eliminating the need for the brain to spend time processing that information. This time delay due to mental processing may be required with visual stimuli. The patellar reflex used by physicians by sharply contacting the patella tendon under the knee is an example. The brain does not need to invest much to process that information in order for the muscle to contract and move the foot. Also, if someone scares you by producing a loud noise or unexpectedly touching you, or both, will cause a rapid response compared to seeing something, even something potentially dangerous. The visual response can result in the person freezing or not moving until the brain decides what to do.
The variation in processing visual input as compared to auditory and tactile stimuli may also be determined by the time it takes for the stimuli to reach the body. Sound travels at 767 mph. Light travels at 670×106 mph or almost a million times faster. That alone would suggest that the combination of sound pressure, to provide both auditory and a tactile response, and visual light should not originate in the same location relative to the user if the end result is a realistic sensory experience of audio, tactile and visual stimuli. Visual stimulus originating from a hundred yards away will reach the eye in 3.05×10−7 sec (0.000305 milliseconds) compared to a sound wave, which would take about 0.267 seconds to travel the same distance.
It should, therefore, be appreciated that there is a need for a media chair with a low frequency speaker in the chair and able to produce a high pressure area that the user may be positioned in. The present invention fulfills this need and others.